


Music People

by indefensibleselfindulgence



Series: Dark FemSlash Week [2]
Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Apocalypse, Arson, Canon Typical Weirdness, Cunnilingus, Dark femslash week, F/F, Pining, Wax Play
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-20
Updated: 2018-11-22
Packaged: 2019-08-04 19:29:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16352804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/indefensibleselfindulgence/pseuds/indefensibleselfindulgence
Summary: Melanie joins a band while the world ends.It's goes pretty well, considering.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> [Recommended Listening](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hy6QosvMbYE/)
> 
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> 
> so this wasn't supposed to be this long or a two chapter fic but Well
> 
> not beta'd

Reasonably, she should be more upset by this.  
  
End of the world, humanity is forfeit; there's nothing but horror and worry and pain now.  
  
On the other hand, she feeds what feeds her.  
  
The Slaughter is frenetic, and she feels welcome to play. The Piper holds a hand out for her to step up to the stage and she takes it with a smile. Melanie's never played an instrument before but The Piper guides her to a drum set, and she feels good there.  
  
Their music is beautiful together. She can forget everything that led her to this moment, and she can just focus on the beat of the song.  
  
A few people come to watch now and again. Corruption or Dark, no one she knows. But she plays for them, and they cheer when the song ends, and they're drenched in the blood of those who still count as human and were stupid enough to follow the signs leading to the bar.  
  
The Piper invites her to drink with the rest of the band, and she shrugs and goes along with it because she's kind of short on friends at the moment. And maybe she's in a band now, apocalypse not withstanding, and that's just the sort of thing you do when you're in a band.  
  
“Who's going to make beer now?” She calls over the din of the loud news broadcast. The Piper shrugs. He's more a wine guy; she gets it. The entire band is more Wine people, but they're not judging her for it.  
  
None of them talk out loud other than her, and that's a little awkward, but again, they really don't seem to mind. The Piper tells her she'll get over verbal communication pretty soon.  
  
“Cool.” People are screaming in the streets when a wave of bugs crashes down over them and floods the street.  
  
She doesn't know where her coworkers went. She's sure they're around- well Basira might not be and that kind of sucks. Honestly, she was kind of hoping Basira would get along with the Slaughter so that they could play together. Martin went to the Lonely. Jon dipped through a weird door. Elias is probably dead and good riddance to that.  
  
The bar door opens, and a short woman with cropped hair comes in. Even at their booth, Melanie feels heat rolling off of her in waves. The man behind the bar looks up and pours her a whiskey. Melanie leans over and tells The Piper she'll be back.  
  
“And what are you supposed to be?” She glances her over, and Melanie feels like she has to prove a point now.  
  
“I'm with the band.” She points over her shoulder, and the woman twists to look. “What's your deal, just agro-ing on people in bars?”  
  
The woman laughs and knocks her whiskey back before turning to look Melanie head on and melting her face. She jumps, despite herself and feels rather embarrassed about it.  
  
“Jude.” Jude's mouth says, halfway down her chest. Jude lifts a hand to literally push her face back together and smile. “I'm with the cult.”  
  
“You fucked up Jon's hand.”  
  
“The Archivist? Why are you palling around with them then? Shouldn't you be dead?”  
  
“Oh- I uh-” She swallows. “I mean I quit. Before. And they picked me up. I- drums? I play drums now. The other's probably aren't dead. By the way.”  
  
“Oh, I've seen what Distortion's wearing these day's.” Melanie doesn't know what she's supposed to say to that, so she goes with the next best thing.  
  
“You should come watch us play.”  
  
“Seriously?”  
  
“What?”  
  
“It's the end of the world. If you want to fuck just drag me into the bathroom.” Well, sure, maybe that's what she was going for but like, eventually. She doesn't even have time to act indignant. “How old are you?”  
  
“Twenty-seven.”  
  
“God, okay.” Jude snorts like it's the funniest joke in the world and like she isn't maybe five years older than her anyway. “I'll come watch you play.” She teases. “Baby.” It doesn't sound endearing. Jude gets up and heads out, probably to set more things on fire.  
  
The Piper asks her if she struck out.  
  
“I wasn't trying to get laid.”  
  
The Piper pushes the beer glass into her hand and assures her that there are better Powers to be slumming with anyway.

  
…

  
They pretend to be survivors and slip into a fallout shelter pretty much unquestioned.  
  
Her drums are kind of hard to bus around without a, well, without a bus, but she's pretty sure she's getting physically stronger. She doesn't know if it's because she's hauling around a drum kit or if it's because she's gotten really into the whole apocalypse thing, but her arms are filling out.  
  
They rehearsed what she's going to tell the staff if they ask but no one seems to even be paying attention. She asked The Piper if she should introduce him by his old human name and he just shrugged. She doesn't know who the others are- if they were ever actually human. She just knows they're pretty good.  
  
While they're setting up, she looks into the crowd of people and sees Martin and Peter Lucas leaning against the wall. She asks one of the guys to finish up for her and gets a thumbs up.  
  
“Melanie?” Martin looks more shocked then he ever has been. “You're- you're okay?” Lucas doesn't say anything.  
  
“Yeah- I'm with the band. Are you okay?” Martin gives her a pointed look, and she shrugs. “I'm doing pretty okay, actually. Considering.” Lucas chuckles at that and Melanie takes Martin by the hand, tugging him away. “Seriously, are you?”  
  
“I-It's been- It's been hard.” He shivers at the contact and Melanie wants to pull away before he clings even harder to her. “Really hard. Uh-” He looks over his shoulder. “Peter's- he's okay. Just- Can you- Can you hug me?”  
  
She's heard plenty of desperate people lately, but Martin's sounds like he's about to keel over and die. So she hugs him like she had when Elias did his nasty memory trick to him. His fingers dig into her shoulder blades, and he cries on her shirt. She rubs his back.  
  
“Hey- Martin, you'll be okay. You- You lived through Elias.  You can get over The Lonely.” His entire body shakes with the sobs, and she pats what she can reach. “We can work something out, yeah? So we can bump into each other again?”  
  
“O-Okay.” He pulls away from her and wipes his tears on his shirt sleeve. He does pull himself together exceptionally well. “Are you- You're actually playing?”  
  
“Yeah. I'm pretty good.”  
  
“Don't they do classical though?” She nudges his shoulder, and he gives her a tiny laugh.  
  
“It's like- remixed. It sounds sick. Hey- Have you seen Basira? Or the boss? J-Someone told me he might still be around.”  
  
“Uh-” Martin shakes his head. “I don't think The Spiral really gets along with us. I don't know about- bout Basira.”  
  
“If I see him I'll send you his way, okay? I think I'm going to-” She points at the stage. “You might want to stay out of the big crowds; they get a little intense.”  
  
“I don't think I'm allowed in crowds anymore, actually.” She gives him another tight hug. He sighs. “Break a leg.”  
  
“Thanks.” Lucas waves at her, and she flips him off before shuffling through the crowd of desperate people to climb up on the stage.  
  
When she sits down to make sure they got the hi-hat as tight as she liked it, she spots Jude talking to the workers here. One of the band winks at her and gives her a thumbs up again. She laughs and pulls the mic down closer to her mouth.  
  
She's learned to not wait for anyone to quiet down. No one really gets quiet that much anymore.  
  
“We're Grifter's Bone. Hope this helps.” She nudges the mic away. Most of the people actually stop and turn to watch them. That doesn't happen a lot. She counts them in, and the Piper croons his beautiful music.  
  
Feed what feeds you. 

  
…

  
By the time they close the set out, there are three humans still standing, and Lucas and Martin descend on them like sharks. She waves at him before they leave and he waves back.  
  
The Piper helps her off the stage, and she stretches, her boots squelching in viscera.  
  
“Hey, baby.” The heat pours off of her in waves, and Melanie almost takes a step back. “That wasn't bad.”  
  
“I think the word you're looking for is good?”  
  
“Sure. Don't really get the drum thing though. But sure.” Melanie sighs.  
  
“It's like, mounting terror- builds up tension and it's like a remix type thing?”  
  
“Sound like you just don't know how to play anything else.” There's a smirk on her lips that Melanie wants to wipe off. She might actually be able to wipe it off. What with Jude being a wax person. “So. Bathroom?”  
  
Melanie blushes because no, again, this really isn't what she was going for here.  
  
“I mean, buy me dinner first.”  
  
“Oh, sure, let me just call up a caterer.” Jude crosses her arms. “Aren't you full up right now?”  
  
“Uh.” Yes. She is. She's brimming with an energy she didn't have before. “I mean-”  
  
“Baby.” Jude smiles and reaches out to push Melanie's hair out of her face. “You're not a person anymore. You can just do what you want now.”  
  
“My name's Melanie.”  
  
“Melanie.” Jude holds her hand out. Melanie remembers the statement. She takes her hand. The heat is dizzying, like stepping into a sauna right after being outside in a snowstorm. “Jude.”  
  
Behind her, The Piper whistles.  
  
“Date first.” She says and takes her hand back. It's dripping wax on to the crimson floor. “Then bathroom sex.”  
  
“At least you have your priorities in order.” Jude nods. “Date first. My people will talk to your people, okay?”  
  
“Huh-”  
  
“Cult, remember?”  
  
“Right.”  
  
“See you around, Melanie. Learn a better instrument.”  
  
When she gets back on stage to dismantle her drums, the band claps her on the back, and she laughs.  
  
“You don't care what I play right?”  
  
The Piper assures her they don't.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯¯\\_(ツ)_/¯¯\\_(ツ)_/¯¯\\_(ツ)_/¯¯\\_(ツ)_/¯¯\\_(ツ)_/¯¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

Jude's hands burn on her sides, searing the skin along her ribs. She watches sweat drip onto Jude's hands and watches steam come up.  
  
“Whoa.”  Jude laughs hot wax sticks to her neck where she bites with mostly solid teeth. “Hey- if I had normal skin would I be dead by now?”  
  
“Probably.” Melanie gasps, her leg almost seems to sink into Jude's back, when hot wax drips onto her nipples. “I'd boil your heart from the inside out.” Her toes curl when Jude licks a line up her neck and feels her skin bubble.  
  
“Why is that hot- wait-” Jude's already laughing. “I mean- why is you almost killing me hot?”  
  
“Baby.” She whispers.  
  
“Melanie.”  
  
“Baby.” She insists, fingers solidifying long enough to give her breasts a squeeze. “We're all End adjacent now.” 

  
…

  
The government finally pulls itself together enough to call the troops, and the band practically glows with energy. They don't even really need to play that much to stay fed, the army means they're fighting something, and the random barges of bullets make it well enough war.  
  
It's mostly just fun now, terrorizing random stragglers- maybe even soldiers.  
  
They get a following, somehow. Well, okay, it's a cult, but they are a band so why call it a cult when she can call them her fans. Everyone's got a following nowadays. Even Martin has a few groupies- desperate humans who think that if they throw their lot in with something scary, then they won't kick it like the rest of humanity.  
  
Her fans are pretty cool though. They're like roadies, she tells the Piper, and he shrugs. Melanie forgets he really only has a tiny case to carry around. She and the Contra Bassist are the ones who have to haul heavy instruments around. Well, had to.  
  
Her fans do it now. She doesn't bother remembering their names, and they don't exactly last long enough.  
  
Jude has cultists who aren't wax people, but they don't carry anything around for her, they're just there to set the larger fires. Martin's are mostly pretty girls who wave their fingers in front of particularly stupid men.  
  
Maybe she is getting the short end of the stick.  
  
The Piper dips from the rest of the band sometimes. He invites her along, and Melanie follows after him without her drums. She realizes maybe an hour into the trip that he's taking her to an active war zone. He holds a finger up to his lips and Melanie doesn't ask any questions. There's high rise missing a wall that he leads her up.  
  
She sees it before it sees her. It's massive, two stories easily, and when it sweeps it's hand across a field of soldiers desperately shooting at it, they go flying in the air like they weigh nothing.  
  
It looks like her war ghosts, just so much worse. Bigger and angrier and nothing but cold murderous intent. It doesn't have a mouth, doesn't have any features really, but when it turns to look at her, it smiles, and the Piper presses his pipe to his lips and plays.  
  
She finds the rest of the band a few hours later.  
  
She can't stop smiling for days.

  
…

  
“Fuck- fuck- like that-shhh-” Jude's tongue laps at her clit, three fingers already in her and Melanie is pretty sure she might actually die.  
  
What a way to go.  
  
Jude's eyes bore holes into her face, and it's exceptionally intense. Her other hand rests on Melanie's stomach, some confused state of solid and fluid every time Melanie's hips buck up into Jude's mouth. Her legs dent into Jude's back, but she doesn't seem to mind any.  
  
“F-Fuu”  
  
“Yeah, that's it.” A voice comes from somewhere the definitely isn't Jude's mouth and it sends Melanie into a laughing fit. “That's it, Baby.” Melanie squeals and the fingers inside of her swell up, and she comes breathlessly, legs kicking out and head hitting the pillow.  
  
Jude pulls herself together and gets up next to her on her knees.  
  
“I'm really not surprised you're a pillow princess.”  
  
“Hey!” She wants to argue, but Jude straddles her face between she can get another word out.  
  
“Don't slack drummer girl.” The heat of Jude's thighs makes her head spin. “No one likes lazy kids.”  
  
Her protest is muffled, and all it gets her is Jude's pleased sigh and a hand in her hair. 

  
...

  
They offer to do a private show for the Lukas'.  
  
The Piper tells Peter that it's a show of good faith and solidarity. Melanie thinks he actually believes him. The Piper can be very convincing when he wants to be, she's noticed. He told her it was really for her to hang out with Martin for a while. It made her happier then she thought it would. He just gives her a thumbs up.  
  
Martin looks better when she sees him again. Dressing in personally tailored clothes probably helps at least a bit.  
  
“Hey.”  
  
“Oh thank god.” Martin pushes past the few girls hanging off of him. “Hi. Can we-”  
  
She opens her arms, and he hugs her like it's the last thing he'll ever do. He's not crying into her shirt this time though — a good sign. She hopes it's a good sign.  
  
“Jesus, Martin.” He laughs and steps away from her slowly. “You okay?”  
  
“Yeah. Yes. I mean. Better?” He shrugs. It's not as casual as she's sure he wants it to be. “I'm uh- part of the family now.” He holds his hand up, and Melanie stares at the ring on his finger.  
  
“Did they force you--”  
  
“No- No. Uh, Peter offered. To take the edge of it off. And it works.”  
  
She grabs him by the arm and pulls him away to a corner.  
  
“Martin that's fucked up.” She says. “That's like really fucked up.”  
  
“It's really okay. I'm okay.” Martin twists the ring on his finger and stares at the few glinting diamonds.  “It's one of those platonic things. We didn't even kiss at the ceremony.”  
  
She sits down.  
  
“I guess it's better than getting jumped into a gang.” But is it really?  
  
“Or having to kill someone. Well.” He rubs the back of his neck. At least they can still laugh about it. “I would have invited you, but they said-”  
  
“It's fine. I hate weddings anyway. Have you heard from Jon? Or Basira?” She asks. Martin's nervous smile falls a bit. Maybe that was a bit cruel, but it's out and what else is she going to do.  
  
“Uh, yeah, actually. I've seen Jon.” He mumbles. “He uh-”  
  
“Did you talk?”  
  
“Not re- no.”  
  
“Is it us bad or actually bad?”  
  
Martin sounds like he's about to say something, but he stops. When Melanie looks up, Peter's hand is on his shoulder. The Piper's next to both of them and he offers a hand for her to take.  
  
“Distressing my husband, Ms. King?”  
  
“God. It's still just Melanie you creep.” She takes the Piper's hand and remembers herself. “Congrats, I guess.”  
  
“Thank you,” Martin tells her. “If you see Jon can you- I don't know.”  
  
“That's okay,” Peter says. The Piper squeezes her hand. “If you do see the Distortion, send it our way, will you?”  
  
Melanie sees red when she sits behind her drums. 

  
…

  
Jude grinds down on her face until she's satisfied and falls to the side next to her.  
  
“That was nice.”  
  
“Really?” Melanie twists to look at her. She kind of wants to fall asleep, and she wasn't aware that was something she needed to do anymore.  
  
“Do you need to hear it?”  
  
“I've had a really shit week.” Jude laughs and turns on her side, head resting on her elbow.  
  
“You ever slept with a woman before?” She asks, and Melanie shrugs. “Then yeah, you were great.”  
  
“Rude.” She tells her and Jude pats her stomach.  
  
“I'm sure you'll be even better next time drummer girl.”  
  
“Next time?”  
  
“Maybe when your week is less shit.”  
  
“Y-Yeah. Maybe.” 

  
…

  
“Hello, Drummer.”  
  
She's alone when he finds her. His arrival is only announced by the creak of a door, and when Melanie turns to look at him, she gets Martin's worry immediately.  
  
“Jon.”  
  
“Not so much anymore these days.” He lifts a- god, god, god, god, God - he waves at her. “You're doing well for yourself.”  
  
“Uh.”  
  
“I'm happier like this.” He smiles, and Melanie remembers Martin's desperate begging that she listen to all of the Spiral statements, the Distortion's, the Liar's. “We're happier like this.”  
  
“Right. Uh. Martin was looking... for you.”  
  
“I saw him.”  
  
“He's married now.”  
  
“To the Lonely, yes.”  
  
“That doesn't- why are you fine with that?”  
  
“Would you prefer he marry me? Don't imagine they make rings my size.” He holds his hand up- the remnants of Jude's scar no longer the scariest part of him.  
  
She has to look away.  
  
And then Jon laughs.  
  
“Give the Lonely my regards, Drummer.”  
  
“Melanie.” She mumbles, and when she opens her mouth blood drips down her chin.  
  
“Drummer.” He repeats, voice echoing. She can hear his hand scratch against the wood of the door. “Oh.” She can hear the amusement in his voice. “The Hunter has Basira.”  
  
Melanie whips around.  
  
“Basira's alive?” She whispers. Jon's smile hurts to look at it. “Daisy's alive?”  
  
“Well. They are or they're not. Goodbye Drummer.” 

  
…

  
“Hey, before you go?” Jude looks over her shoulder while she tugs her jeans on. “Do you want to go on another date?”  
  
“I'm really not a two date kind of girl, sunshine.”  
  
Melanie sits up in bed and looks at her. Really looks at her. At the molten core in the middle of her, that animates the rest of the wax.  
  
“I know a really great spot.”  
  
“Great spot for you or for me?” That makes her pause for a second. She- okay right, she forgets sometimes, that it's not all music for everyone.  
  
She remembers reading about Agnus. She wonders why she doesn't compare. Maybe Jude never really moved on. Maybe she doesn't want to get attached again- but then when did someone like Jude do attached.  
  
“We could co-lab?” She stops belt halfway drawn through the loops. “I can probably get to where the drones are kept. If you- I mean, if you want.”  
  
“...” Jude finishes getting dressed. “I'll think about it.”  
  
“That's not a no.” Melanie gets out of the bed.  
  
“Don't make it one.” 

  
…

  
  
She chases one rumor after another for what feels like too long for what could be a lie.  
  
Hunters seemed to have disappeared off the face of the earth, and she honestly doesn't know if it's because the Hunt wasn't brought through or if they're all hiding somewhere. The band asks around for her, and the gesture isn't lost on her. She'll figure out a way to pay them back eventually.  
  
“Hey, drummer girl.” Jude slides onto the bar stool next to her. “I heard you were looking for another girl. Should I be worried?”  
  
“I mean-” Melanie tries to twist her straw around in a sexy way and ends up spilling half of the glass over her jeans. “Obviously not.”  
  
Jude smiles at her. It's kind of a pity smile, but Melanie will take what she can get.  
  
“I know where your hunter is.”  
  
“I'm not really-” Melanie swallows. “Not really looking for the hunter.”  
  
“Your hunter.” She says slowly again. “That shot a friend of mine.”  
  
“I think she shot a lot of people,” Melanie says before she can think. “And I think your friend was bothering my boss.”  
  
“Mm.” Jude knocks back her drink and slides a singed piece of paper over to Melanie. “Hope your ex is worth it.”  
  
“She's not- She's not my ex.”  
  
“Wanna-be ex. I'd kill that dream pretty quick, Baby. Your hunter's been a bit lethal. And a bit clingy, from what I've heard. Real bitch.”  
  
“That's just what she's always like.”  
  
“Mm- Elias really did just hire anyone who walked in, didn't he.” Two Mms in a row.  
  
“I'll pay you back for this.” She says, folding the paper into her pocket. “I ow you.”  
  
That makes Jude smile. She points a finger and nods.  
  
“Seal the deal with a handshake, Baby.”  
  
Jon's scars are seared into her mind.  
  
She takes Jude's hand anyway.  
  
Afterward, she takes a walk. It's a bit out of the way, even for her.  
  
The houses are tiny and very empty, and blood stains the streets. The hand-drawn map definitely points her here and the further along she goes the more reasons she realizes Jude was probably right and she should probably have let this run it's course alone.  
  
Lightless Flame robes hang off of fences. She wonders if they're intentional.  
  
There's a noise down the street that sounds a lot like screaming. She couldn't take Daisy in a fight then. Now?  
  
It's not like she has her drums with her.  
  
“Hey.” She might as well jump a good five feet in the air. Basira's in the doorway of one of the empty houses. Somehow she didn't expect this to be this easy.  
  
“H-hey.” Melanie mumbles. “You're not dead.”  
  
“Seems that way. Come in, and I got the kettle started.” And almost as if on queue a loud whistle goes off behind them.  
  
The house is cleaner than the rest of the neighborhood: one story, shockingly open plan. Almost like one of the walls was broken in with a sledgehammer or something. There's a massive pile of fabric in the living room.  
  
“So are you just...”  
  
“Just me?”  
  
“I wasn't going to say it like that.” She wasn't going to say anything.  
  
Basira hasn't changed at all. Still prim, still beautiful, even now.  
  
Especially now.  
  
“Black okay?”  
  
“Yeah.”  
  
“So what are you now?” Melanie feels something curl inside of her, tugging her closer. It's warm and pleasant and gentle. Basira pours three cups of tea.  
  
“You know.” She mumbles. There are words caught in her throat. And the soft, warm thing pulls them out. “Slaughter.”  
  
“Huh. Lemon?” Basira asks and Melanie nods.  
  
What was-  
  
“Where's the rest of the band?”  
  
“In to-” She snaps her mouth shut. “Seriously?”  
  
Basira looks up at her and drinks her tea quietly. When she's done with her sip, she pushes Melanie's cup closer.  
  
“In town? How have the show been?”  
  
“Fine.” She grits her teeth.  
  
“And who sent you here?”  
  
“No one. No one did. You don't have to do this. I spent weeks trying to find you.”  
  
“Huh.” She says.  “Force of habit I guess.”  
  
Melanie shouldn't have quite so soon.  
  
“Archivist.” She says, with a trace of bitterness she doesn't expect from her mouth. Jude was right. Fuck. “I was worried about you.”  
  
“That was sweet of you.” Basira stands up and heads to the front door. The hulking mass of skin and muscle that steps inside kind of looks like Daisy, if she was very pressed to admit it. “Hi.” She kisses the thing on the head. “We have a guest over. Remember her?”  
  
The thing bounds over, crossing the distance in a second and its face presses against Melanie's.  
  
“Hi, Daisy.” She whispers.  
  
Daisy growls.  
  
“Did the Distortion send you my way?”  
  
“Jon?” Daisy seems to perk up at the familiar name, body contorting to look at Basira who nods. “He- He mentioned you were alive.”  
  
“That's sweet of him.” Basira pushes past her- past Daisy. “Come on. I made tea. She can't hurt us.”  
  
If looking at Jon's hand was painful watching Daisy's bones snap and crack into human places made Melanie borderline faint.  
  
“I don't like you,” Daisy says, coughing. “I mean- I remember not liking you.”  
  
“Sorry.”    
  
“It's whatever. I didn't like any of you.” She didn't even realize Daisy was naked until Basira pushes a sweater over her shoulders.  
  
“That's fair.”  
  
“That's what I tell her all the time.”  
  
“You like Distortion,” Basira tells her.  
  
“Yeah, Jon's okay. Sometimes.”  
  
They drink tea. It's pretty good. Melanie hasn't had anything other than beer in a while. Daisy whispers things in Basira's ear, and Basira hums along every now and again.  
  
“So what you're both- You're both just living out here- doing a domestic?”    
  
“That's a cute way to put it,” Basira says.  
  
Daisy purrs. 

The sound makes Melanie want to pull her teeth out.

  
…

  
  
Jude takes her to a forest.  
  
Melanie doesn't really get it.  
  
They don't talk much, Jude just leads Melanie deeper and deeper into the woods, and for a while, Melanie's pretty sure Jude is going to kill her. Weighing the pros and cons, it wouldn't be the worst thing that's happened to her this week.  
  
“You're a real bummer you know that?” Jude calls over her shoulder, a few feet away.  
  
“It's been a long week, I think.” She tells her.  
  
“Did your hunter lead not pan out like you wanted it to?”  
  
“That's a nice way to put it.” She tells her.  
  
“You said she wasn't your ex,” Jude tells her back, and fair. She did say that.  “I doubt she's hotter than me anyway.”  
  
“Was that a joke?”  
  
“It was, or it wasn't,” Jude tells her. Melanie laughs either way.  
  
They get to a clearing with a cabin in the middle. It's nice.  
  
“She's uh, she's with the hunter.”  
  
“Yeah, I figured you knew that.”  
  
“I don't know. She uh-” Melanie almost tells her about the Archivist thing. Almost. “The hunter can get big.”  
  
“Figured you knew that too.”  
  
Jude sits down on the grass and Melanie stands next to her.  
  
“You think I'm dumb.”  
  
“Yeah, I mean.” Jude shrugs. “You're just new to all of this.”  
  
“It's been the end of the world for like two months.”  
  
“God, Baby.” She whistles. “I feel like I'm cradle robbing.” Melanie nudges her foot, and Jude laughs. They stay in silence after a while, and Melanie doesn't mind the breeze. The smell of the crisp wood air.  “I'm going to set this on fire.”  
  
“Oh.”  
  
“And then we can fuck in the cabin.”  
  
“Romantic.”  
  
“You'll get it.” She stands up slowly and brushes dirt off of her jeans. “Give me a minute, it's worth the hike. Trust me.”  
  
“I doubt it's going to be the worst thing I see this week.”  
  
“Atta-girl.”  
  
Jude is right of course.  
  
The fire burns miles up, and she's sure it could be seen from town. Watching Jude glow with it, though. Watching the first tree burn and the way she breathed in tandem with the flames is something close to godliness. She's so happy- hysterically happy almost, laughing and pressing her body against the flames, watching them run up her arms and catch in her hair.  
  
Melanie's almost tempted to join her.

**Author's Note:**

> comments are always encouraged and very very very appreciated
> 
> come [talk to me](http://iamalivenow.tumblr.com/)


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